We all want to drive our home’s value, even if we don’t plan to sell it anytime soon. It’s an early investment many Americans tend to make and a reliable one as well. However, not many people know how to increase their home value.
Real estate experts suggest one way for you to increase your home value: home extensions. It’s pretty natural for American homes to have extensions, considering the average size of such a yard is around 1,000 square feet. But not all extensions can drive your home value up. Only a chosen few are known to do this reliably.
If you’re planning to sell your home soon, then you should consider these options if you want to sell it for the highest bidder.
Garage
Many American homes come with a garage, but if your home does not have one, you should consider building one.
American homes always have enough space for one or two parking spots (depending on your vehicle.) But not all garages will drive your home value up, and we will also discuss later that garage conversions aren’t a good choice if you’re planning to sell your home.
Garages made from expensive materials like oak and hardwood are the only ones that will drive your home’s overall value up. If your garage isn’t made of those things, consider revamping some of its parts. That should net you an increase in home value.
Swimming Pool
Having a swimming pool in your backyard is the most reliable way to increase home value. You’re expected to get a 7% increase in home price, and this percentage can grow much higher depending on your neighborhood, the pool’s maintenance, and the overall structure of the pool. However, swimming pools are a pretty expensive option for a home extension.
The average price of building a swimming pool is around $15,000 to $20,000. If you think about it that’s an expensive extension, but it makes your home so much easier to sell if you are a real estate agent. Furthermore, that increase in home price will undoubtedly net you enough money to go on a vacation with your family.
Gazebo
Another great choice for driving your home value up is gazebos. It’s one of the extensions that a family of five would look for, and it’s an even better choice if your home is built next to a river or a body of water.
Gazebos are also great if you’re into a more active lifestyle. It’s great for doing yoga and stretching. It’s also a great place to drink a warm cup of coffee in the morning. If you truly want to increase your home’s value, then you should consider getting a gazebo with oak porches instead. Oak is a highly sought out building material, and many people will certainly pay you more for such an extension in your home.
What Extensions Don’t Drive Home Value?
Not all extensions increase home value. Some will increase it by a bit, while there are others that can even hurt the value of your home, making it harder to sell, and forcing you to sell it at a much lower price. Here are two examples of extensions that don’t increase your home value.
Above-ground Swimming Pool
As stated earlier, swimming pools are a nice way for you to increase your home value. It’s great for the summer and if you’re the kind of person who likes to throw parties in your home. However, not all forms of the swimming pool can drive your home value up.
Because of their easy-to-assemble and disassemble nature, above-ground swimming pools don’t increase your home value in any way. Also, the new homeowners are likely to ask you to disassemble them because they tend to depreciate faster. They also don’t have a great look for your home.
If you want to have a swimming pool for summer, then consider this option because it’s much cheaper than other types of pools. But if you want to add value to your home, then the below-ground swimming pool is just for you.
Garage Conversions
You should steer away from garage conversions if you’re planning to sell your home. People don’t like garage conversions because of their personalization and difficulty to remodel. Most people want a regular garage where they can park their car. Furthermore, garage conversions can even hurt property value, depending on the conversion you’ve chosen. It also makes your home a lot harder to sell.
Now that you have an idea of which extensions you should build and which you should avoid, you can now reach the value you’d like for your home. Remember that this is an investment, so make sure to have saved a couple of dollars for such extensions in your home.
